New STV Rules ?

[cracker1]

The following was part of an email I received from my local Royal Thai Embassy Today. I am particularly concerned about the requirement to have 500,000 baht in the bank for six months before arrival, and have never read of this requirement in any previous stories ?

 

Required documents for applying for Special Tourist Visa (STV)

-          Original passport (validity more than 12 months from the date of expecting to enter the country)

-          2 visa application forms ( Please find attached) and 2 passport sized photos (not more than 6 months)

-          Visa fee for STV 2,000 baht (NZ$120)

-          ASQ or AHQ booking confirmation for at least 14 days

-          Health insurance covering the whole stay in Thailand from a Thai insurance company, with medical and accident expense coverage of at least 40,000 Thai Baht for outpatient and at least 400,000 Thai baht for inpatient**

-          Proof of marriage certificate and birth certificate are required when traveling with your spouse and children under 20 years old

-          Proof of accommodation in Thailand after quarantine:

(a) proof of payment for a hotel or other type of accommodation for the whole period of your stay in Thailand and a bank statement over the last 6 months with a balance of not less than 500,000 baht; or

(b) a copy of certificate of ownership of a condominium unit in Thailand under your name or a member of your family; or

(c) proof of payments for purchase or lease of a condominium unit, with at least 2 instalments paid (otherwise, bank statement over the last 6 months with a balance not less than 500,000 baht or equivalent is required)

[DrJack54]

Is NZ on the list of countries for STV? 

 

[jackdd]

Afaik all embassies have such a requirement for the STV.

You either need to own a Condo in Thailand, or have the equivalent of 500k THB (in Europe they require 15k EUR) seasoned in a bank account for 6 months.

[mtls2005]

22 minutes ago, cracker1 said:

and have never read of this requirement in any previous stories

 

The 500,000 baht or "equivalent" requirement was mentioned in STV news reports as early as 28 Sep., for both "businessmen" and "tourists".

 

 

[ChouDoufu]

could this be an option for non-o holders to return once their original visa/extension expires?  come in on the stv and convert to non-o at immigration?

 

but then what of the insurance requirement?  would they need to book a (refundable/throwaway) flight out in order to provide a fixed length for the insurance policy?  what about after conversion?  would the insurance requirement follow, despite non-o in country not requiring proof of insurance?

[DrJack54]

8 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

could this be an option for non-o holders to return once their original visa/extension expires?  come in on the stv and convert to non-o at immigration?

Have you read the planned numbers for this visa. It's low. More importantly it's considering applicants from "low risk" countries. The first group is 150 Chinese. They were scheduled to land today, unless that has been pushed back. This imo, is designed for Chinese. Some other countries (Scandinavia) are also on the list.

In reality very few few countries quality. 

In addition now that O-A and O-X holders can apply for COE, it all means LONG wait given the limitations on quarantine capacity.

Edited October 8, 2020 by DrJack54

[ChouDoufu]

6 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Have you read the planned numbers for this visa. It's low. More importantly it's considering applicants from "low risk" countries. The first group is 150 Chinese. They were scheduled to land today, unless that has been pushed back. This imo, is designed for Chinese. Some other countries (Scandinavia) are also on the list.

In reality very few few countries quality. 

In addition now that O-A and O-X holders can apply for COE, it all means LONG wait given the limitations on quarantine capacity.

sure, low numbers to start with.  (well, if they ever do start!)

if all goes well, they can quickly ramp up the numbers.

if not, they'll cancel the program entirely.

 

and some of us with expiring extensions (10 days left) are

stuck in a low-risk country.  i believe if you are in china or

the country of scandinavia (perhaps with long-stay visa), you

can apply for the stv.  haven't read that it's restricted to

citizens of those countries.

[ubonjoe]

23 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

could this be an option for non-o holders to return once their original visa/extension expires?  come in on the stv and convert to non-o at immigration?

I would say that applying for a OA visa would be the best choice since you can now enter the country on one. It was recently added to the list of visas that qualify for a certificate of entry.

That would allow almost 2 years of total stay verses 90 days the STV allows.

[DrJack54]

Opening Thailand to tourism: STV arrivals delayed until 25 Oct - after Vegetarian Festival (thread from Thaivisa news

STV first plane load scheduled for today has been pushed back to Oct 25 due to vegetarian festival. Strange since these 150 Chinese were to be in strict quarantine.

STV is a litmus test to have Chinese tourists.

Edited October 8, 2020 by DrJack54

[ubonjoe]

Some off topic posts meant to deflect the topic and a reply to one have been removed.

[ubonjoe]

29 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

STV is a litmus test to have Chinese tourists.

I don't think it is.

I think they chose China for first one since it about the only country in the region that can meet the low risk requirement.

It is also good for Air Asia since that is the airline they planned to use for the charter flight

[Saddic]

NO REFUNDS

 

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2020/10/07/no-refunds-govt-delays-special-tourist-visas-2-days-before-launch/

[lopburi3]

17 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I don't think it is.

I think they chose China for first one since it about the only country in the region that can meet the low risk requirement.

It is also good for Air Asia since that is the airline they planned to use for the charter flight

And it is now postponed with less than 48 hours notice and no refunds allowed for anything as only delayed to an unknown date in the future rather than canceled.  

[DrJack54]

Just now, lopburi3 said:

And it is now postponed with less than 48 hours notice and no refunds allowed for anything as only delayed to an unknown date in the future rather than canceled.  

Current Thaivisa news thread states Oct 25. However you would not bank on it.

I'm torn between Comedy vs Train Wreck.

 

[ChouDoufu]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

And it is now postponed with less than 48 hours notice and no refunds allowed for anything as only delayed to an unknown date in the future rather than canceled.  

 

at this point, what does that matter? 

 

hasn't it been reported that the 150 chinese "tourists" were actually businesspeoples sponsored by the CP group, and that their "tour" had already been arranged long before the stv was announced?

 

those guys losing a deposit or not getting refunded won't have the same effect as with genuine tourists coming over for a real vacation.

[jacko45k]

Why is the $100,000 Covid cover not mentioned here?

[lopburi3]

6 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Why is the $100,000 Covid cover not mentioned here?

Saving computer ink.

 

Quote

Medical and Travel Insurance options with a minimum 100,000 USD coverage for Covid-19 medical treatment and a minimum coverage of 400,000 THB for other medical and accident expenses. The insurance must cover for at least 90 days.

http://www.thailongstay.co.th/stv_visa.html

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, Saddic said:

NO REFUNDS

 

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2020/10/07/no-refunds-govt-delays-special-tourist-visas-2-days-before-launch/

“It’s part of the conditions of the STV that they had to pay first,” Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn said by phone. “So, there’s no need for those refunds, because their trip is not cancelled, it’s just delayed.”

 

Hahahahahahaha!, So in essence Som Nom Na

[DrJack54]

Just now, ThailandRyan said:

“So, there’s no need for those refunds, because their trip is not cancelled, it’s just delayed.”

They are just following the AirAsia business model.

[ThailandRyan]

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

They are just following the AirAsia business model.

Of course, sort of like the Thai airways cancelations and my Delta Airlines cancelations, continuing to be booked and canceled and now a voucher to use before the end of September 2022 if the airlines are still in business, and of course no refunds.  Just laughable.

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Why is the $100,000 Covid cover not mentioned here?

That is just for the basic visa application. The get a certificate it requires the $100,000 covid 19 insurance.

Embassy website has info: https://wellington.thaiembassy.org/th/content/118855-entry-request-for-non-thai-nationals?cate=5d75e39215e39c06b8005479

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

That is just for the basic visa application. The get a certificate it requires the $100,000 covid 19 insurance.

OK I see thanks, but the ASQ or AHQ was mentioned which threw me.

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

And it is now postponed with less than 48 hours notice and no refunds allowed for anything as only delayed to an unknown date in the future rather than canceled.  

Try to understand that the whole idea about the STV came from the boss at TAT and the minister of tourism and sports. No one in Phuket was prepared for this entry so fast, and there were no official way to apply for the STV in China to be able to arrive in Thailand October 8. There are people suggesting that these 120-150 Chinese "tourists" are actually invited to Thailand as a test to see if the STV will work at all. 

[DrJack54]

Interesting read in Thaivisa news forum

[Letseng]

9 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

sure, low numbers to start with.  (well, if they ever do start!)

if all goes well, they can quickly ramp up the numbers.

if not, they'll cancel the program entirely.

 

and some of us with expiring extensions (10 days left) are

stuck in a low-risk country.  i believe if you are in china or

the country of scandinavia (perhaps with long-stay visa), you

can apply for the stv.  haven't read that it's restricted to

citizens of those countries.

It is not citizenship based but residence based. A Brit living in Scandinavis could apply. But proof of residence is needed.

Thai longstay published a list of allowed countries. 

[MRToMRT]

30 minutes ago, Letseng said:

It is not citizenship based but residence based. A Brit living in Scandinavis could apply. But proof of residence is needed.

Thai longstay published a list of allowed countries. 

Is that the 8 Schengen countries or another list? I found the Schengen list interesting because theres at least 3 countries on it with quite bad covid numbers, worse than the UK.

[Max69xl]

10 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Of course, sort of like the Thai airways cancelations and my Delta Airlines cancelations, continuing to be booked and canceled and now a voucher to use before the end of September 2022 if the airlines are still in business, and of course no refunds.  Just laughable.

If you know that Thai Airways went bankrupt, then you know why there are still no refunds. Passengers always gets eventual money last. 

[Max69xl]

10 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Saving computer ink.

 

http://www.thailongstay.co.th/stv_visa.html

The insurance must cover for at least 90 days or the whole period of time. 

[samsensam]

 

with almost daily changes and/or postponements i'd let things settle down and allow the various government departments and agencies get their head round what's going on before investing any money or time in coming to thailand for a holiday/returning to thailand.

[renz]

if i were you i would stay home now till this whole is over or till less restrictive requirement is required as it's just not worth travelling now - difficulties in going out and coming back in ...... lots of it